Zenobie

Windrose Chronicles #4.4

by Barbara Hambly

A novelette of 16,000 words. Computer programmer Joanna Sheraton's hippie mother asks the help of her daughter's partner - exiled wizard Antryg Windrose - in getting rid of a spectre which seems to be haunting the New Age Consciousness-Raising Center in Bayou Chien Mort, Louisiana. Upon arrival, Antryg and Joanna begin to suspect that there is a lot more going on than anyone is willing to admit, with results potentially more deadly than noises in the night and a little blood on the walls.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Short Stories, Mystery

59 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2015

About the author

aka Barbara Hamilton

Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.


"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly

Reviews

[Heather D-G · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little Antryg and Joanna jaunt, with an interesting premise. These two are in fine form, with ghosts (?!), aging rock stars and Joanna’s new age mother all along for the adventure.

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another novelette featuring the Further Adventures of Antryg and Joanna. We got to see Joanna's parents this round, plus a ghost story set in New Orleans at a New Age spiritual leader's construction project.

[Mai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gotta love Antryg and Joanna solving a 'ghost' mystery!

[Juliet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adventure

Once again Hambly enchanted with tales from my favourite characters. Looking forward to more of these to get the adrenalin pumping

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always down for a ghost story and the isolated setting was great, though I felt that things were resolved too quickly.

[Erin (PT) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novelette in the Antryg Windrose series; Antryg and Joanna go to a haunted plantation in Louisiana (at the request of Joanna's mother). A lot of this resonated with me, having a hippie mother from the 60s who was not always the most present parent and, from the Benjamin January series, Hambly's love for and familiarity with Louisiana comes through vividly. However, this story didn't work as well for me as it might of because Antryg spends a great deal of it not really communicating with Joanna (or, by extension, the audience) until the very Sherlockian end. Still, having never seen Joanna's relationship with her parents, it's both illuminating to see those relationships and to see how Joanna has and is growing past them.